Make It Up To You
by prayforthelight
Summary: Brendan ruins a perfectly planned night for him and Ste.
1. Chapter 1

"Stephen." A deep voice growled.  
"Stephen." The man repeated.  
Ste turned over, covering his head with his arms.  
He felt a tapping on his cheek, and soon found his cheeks being squished together.  
"Yeh look like a hamster Stephen." The Irish man slurred, chuckling to himself.  
"I'm Stephen, and I'm a hamster." He mimicked.  
"Brendan what is up with you?" Ste snapped, turning around on the couch to see Brendan kneeling next to him.  
"Shhhh," Brendan said, pressing his pointer finger to the side of his pursed lips "We have to be quiet: Stephen's sleeping."  
Brendan coughed, and Ste smelt a pungent odor of whiskey hanging on his breath.  
"Are you drunk Brendan?" Ste asked, still hazy.  
"Never in my life Stephen." Brendan smirked.  
"Bloody hell, just let me sleep!" Ste shouted and turned back on his side, blocking Brendan from seeing his face.

Brendan got up and felt slightly dizzy. He looked around the room and saw that the table had been set. There was a red silk tablecloth, fancy white china plates, wine glasses set out, and a cooler with a wine bottle inside.  
"Oh shit!" Brendan suddenly gasped.  
"Were we gonna…?" He started.  
"Yes we were gonna have dinner." Ste groaned angrily from the couch.  
"I'm sorry Stephen, I forgot. I'm sure we can still have it, right?" Brendan said, trying to rectify his error.  
"I've already eaten me food. Just forget about it, okay? Go to sleep." Ste said coldly.  
"Okay…" Brendan mumbled and slowly stumbled up the stairs, mumbling about how sorry he was.

* * *

By the time morning hit, Stephen was already gone. Brendan had set the alarm for 6:30, and like every morning, he got up promptly, took his shower, had some breakfast, and set out for the day.

He started remembering fragments of yesterday. He had agreed on having a dinner with Stephen at his. Then Brendan had received a call from a client offering to sell some products at a better price, and Brendan couldn't pass up on the opportunity.  
He had invited the client to come have a drink at the club on the house, and soon enough got carried away. Brendan wasn't sure how far gone he was, but from the pounding in his head, and only a faint recollection of the previous night, he knew it was pretty bad.

The village was empty Brendan noticed as he made his way to the deli. There were a few customers already in the deli, getting their breakfast for the road.  
Mitzeee and Riley were standing in front of the line, whispering into each others' ears and giggling. Riley then leaned down and started kissing Mitzeee delicately.

Brendan sighed. He didn't like seeing all this public display of affection.  
Behind them was a dark haired man. He was wearing suit pants and a buttoned shirt.  
Not too bad of an arse. Brendan thought to himself as he peered down subtly.  
Who was he again? The doctor… New in town. Something like that, Brendan wasn't too bothered by insignificant details.

He pushed to the front of the line, receiving scowls from all the customers in front of him.  
"Stephen, can I talk to you?" Brendan asked, trying to be as sweet as he was willing to in front of all those people.  
"I'm sorry, I'm working right now." Ste snarled back, jutting his chin upward.  
God he looks gorgeous when he's angry. Brendan thought to himself.  
"Stephen, please?" Brendan begged quietly, not wanting Riley, Mitzeee or the doctor to hear him that way.  
"Just bugger off, will you, Brendan. I'm not in the mood for this." Ste sighed, not feeling up to fighting.  
"Okay." Brendan gave up, slouching his shoulders, before turning around and walking out the little deli.

Brendan knew he'd messed up. Why couldn't he have just cancelled on the client and gone to Stephen?  
Stephen was far more important than any business opportunity.  
He sat in his office in Chez Chez, trying to conjure a plan that would make it all better. Brendan was no bloody romantic; he didn't know how to apologise properly for his mistakes. He wasn't going to get all mushy and gushy; that just wasn't him.  
He then was hit with an idea. Brendan flipped his phone out of his pocket, speed dialing #2.  
A lady picked up on the other end of the line "Bren what do you want?"  
Brendan pleaded into the phone quietly, "Chez, I messed up, and I need your help."

* * *

The day had felt long and Ste was getting weary. He was extremely frustrated at Brendan; Ste had spent hours preparing lobster for them both, had set the table nicely and he had made sure that Cheryl would be away for the night.  
He had planned everything out properly, and Brendan had just ruined it. He obviously cared more about getting pissed than being with Ste.

"Ste are you okay?" Doug asked gently from the store room of the deli.  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ste responded back monotonously.  
Doug frowned and stopped unpacking the box of fresh food.  
"Come on Ste, obviously you're not okay."  
"Just leave it." Ste snapped back angrily as he slammed down the panini maker on two ham and cheese paninis.  
Doug shrugged and continued unpacking the food.

Of all people, Ste would not be telling Doug about his problems with Brendan. He'd just sneer in his face, and pretend to be all-knowing.  
"I always knew he was bad for you." He'd say cockily or "He was bound to screw up sooner or later."  
Ste just didn't want to pick at that wound. It had been a few months since he and Doug split up, and they managed to get by, but there was still bad air lingering.

"Hello handsome." A cheery voice sing-songed from the door of the deli.  
Ste looked up and saw his ex, Amy.  
"Hey Amy. What can I do you for?" Ste asked, not bothering much to perk up.  
"What's with the scowl Ste?" She frowned.  
"Nothing." He stated.  
"Why does everyone have to pry?" He mumbled under his breath.  
"What was that?" Amy asked curiously.  
"No-thing!" Ste grunted, opening the panini maker heedlessly.  
"Okay Mr. Grumpy." Amy responded, unaffected by Ste's sour mood. "Anyway, I need you to watch the kids tonight."  
"Okay." Ste replied instantly.  
"I've got a date tonight." Amy smirked.  
"Good for you." He grumbled.  
He angrily grabbed the paninis with his hand.  
"Shit!" He yelped as the scorching hot paninis fell to the floor.  
"Just great." He moaned.  
His day was not going as planned.

* * *

At six o'clock sharp, Ste left the deli and made his way home. His day had been horrible and he couldn't help but feeling like breaking down and crying once he had put the kids to sleep. The only thing keeping him going was knowing that when he would get home, Leah and Lucas would be there.  
They would ramble on about their carefree day, show him little drawings they had made, try and climb on his back, and just brighten his already dark day.

Once he got to the humble estate he called home, he took out his keys and opened the door.  
Ste gasped and dropped his keys on the floor.  
"What in the world is this?" He asked, utterly shocked by what he saw in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

"This is all for you Stephen." Brendan told him calmly, while standing next to the table.  
"I can't believe it." Ste uttered, still in awe.

He took a step forward inside the flat. The entire room was dimly lit, and there were rose petals covering part of the floor and the couch. On the tiny kitchen table, a table cloth had been laid out, and there were candles, which smelled strongly of strawberry. Brendan was standing awkwardly next to the table.  
Ste gulped; he knew he wouldn't be able to resist Brendan tonight.  
He was wearing his red shirt with his sleeves rolled up just enough to highlight the muscles in his forearms.

"I know I messed up," Brendan started, scratching his head slowly, "And I know this isn't much, but I just wanted to do something… So that, you know… Everything is okay."  
Ste couldn't help but let himself smile. He couldn't believe that Brendan had done all of this, just for him.  
For him!  
"So if you would do me the honour, would you like to have this meal with me?" Brendan asked, still clearly unsure of what Ste's reaction would be.  
"I'm not sure Brendan," Ste smirked cockily, "You're going to have to do a lot more than just a fancy dinner to win me over."  
Brendan raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what game Ste was playing.  
"Oh I'll do a lot more than just this," He growled back enticingly, "I can be very…" He stopped for a moment and took a step towards Ste, "Persuasive.".

Ste realised how close Brendan was. He could smell his aftershave, and the faint, but easily recognisable smell of bubble gum.  
Brendan reached his hand up and slid it onto Ste's cheek, slowly caressing Ste's lip with his thumb.  
Ste quickly reached around and held onto Brendan's neck, feeling the soft prickle of the dark hairs.  
"Thank you." Ste whispered as the two found themselves deep in a hug.  
Brendan responded by holding Ste tighter, never wanting to let him go.

They had been through so much, and Brendan knew he always felt safest in the arms of Stephen, despite the fact that he was scraggy in comparison to himself.  
Brendan had always been the big bad wolf, blowing down the houses of the innocent. It was only until this one scrawny piglet came along, and tamed him. Taught him right from wrong. Took the time to be there for him. Cared for him. Treated him like no one else had before. Loved him. Brendan never though anyone could love him. He always thought he was a lost cause.

Ste was his refuge.

All of a sudden, Brendan felt a sudden coldness take over him as Ste pulled away.  
"Now," He exclaimed, "I hope you haven't made this food; I don't want to die from your terrible cooking. I'm still young, me."  
Brendan saw a shimmer in Ste's eye. Nothing warmed his insides up like when Ste, or either of his boys, were happy.  
"You do the cooking around here Stephen." Brendan shrugged, "I'm no housewife."  
"Oi!" Ste chuckled, playfully punching Brendan on the shoulder.  
"Now just sit down and enjoy the damn food." Brendan sighed, pulling out the chair for Ste.

Brendan had picked up some curry from what was supposed to be the best Indian restaurant in the outskirts of Chester. The food was well cooked, and lucky for both men, not tainted by Brendan's cooking skills.  
Ste spent the dinner talking about Leah and Lucas, the deli, Amy and everything else that popped into his mind. Brendan stayed quiet for the most part, listening carefully to each detail, occasionally dropping a sarcastic remark to tease Ste.

Brendan liked being the one who Ste shared the stories of his life with. If anything happened, Brendan would be the first to know, and would always be there to help him, or destroy a person if they'd hurt his Stephen. The feeling was mutual, but Brendan clearly wasn't one to express his feelings with his words.

"That was amazing!" Ste stated once he'd finished the last of his food.  
"Yeah it was." Brendan agreed, "I could lick the plate clean." He said as he reached for the plate.  
"Gross!" Ste exclaimed, batting Brendan's hand away.  
"Would rather I lick you clean?" Brendan smirked.  
"Stop it, we've only just finished eating." Ste said, grinning at Brendan's question.  
"Plus, I haven't finished forgiving you yet, have I?"  
"Oh no?" Brendan responded, disgruntled.  
"I've just a few things you have to do first." Ste told him calmly.

* * *

Why did Ste have to make everything to soppy and ridiculous?  
Brendan sighed in frustration. This was not how he'd intended on having the evening play out.  
"Just dance with me. That's all I want you to do." Ste told him nicely.  
Brendan huffed angrily.  
"I'll put on a song okay?" Ste suggested, trying to ease Brendan's task.  
"No. I have a better taste than you, if I let you do it, you'll end up putting on some shit like Jedward."  
Brendan made his way to the new iPod stereo he'd bought Ste as a gift, plugged in his small black iPod nano and found a song.  
Ste recognised the song instantly: 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' by Aerosmith. It was a mother of all ballads.  
Ste looked across the room at Brendan and saw him stride over to Ste. He reached out his hand and Ste took it. Brendan pulled him in close and wrapped his arms around Ste's waist, closing the distance between them. Ste carefully put his arms around Brendan's neck and rested his head on Brendan's broad, firm shoulder. Then, in complete unison, they started moving to the music.

It felt like all forces vanished. Gravity had magically disappeared and they were floating together. Friction was forgotten as they embraced each other's bodies, nothing acting against them. Nothing to pull them apart.

_I am close to you, feeling your heart beating._

Ste knew now wasn't the time to speak, but he could tell from Brendan's rapid heartbeat that he was feeling the same way as Ste.

_I just want to stay with you in this moment forever._

The music was doing all the talking needed.

* * *

The second task was more awkward.  
Brendan felt extremely uncomfortable, but he knew that it would be for the best.  
They were in the bedroom now and Ste sat eagerly on the bed.  
Ste quickly moved to his bedside cabinet drawer and pulled out a container. He flipped it open and pulled out a CD. He opened the cover and slid the disk into a rather old stereo which sat on the window sill.  
Some beats started coming out of the stereo. Rhythmic. Slow. Then a bass line started kicking in, and a scratchy voice started singing.

_You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you,_  
_You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you._

Brendan stood awkwardly in front of the bed, unmoving.  
"Well come on Brendan! Do something!" Ste complained from the bed.  
"Stephen this is ridiculous!" Brendan argued back.  
"Come on Brendan. Just do this for me." Ste replied, eyes glimmering in the low lit room.  
So Brendan started. Slowly. He reached up to his shirt and began unbuttoning, revealing the dark hair Ste had been waiting all night to see.  
Brendan started feeling the rhythm more and began moving his hips slowly to the beat. Ste cheered from the bed, excited at the prospect of it all.

_I want to fuck you like an animal,_  
_I want to feel you from the inside._

"Oh yes I do." Brendan then growled before hastily ripping the shirt off and spinning it around on his pointer-finger.  
"Now you're getting into it!" Ste said happily from the bed, sitting up properly to get a good view of Brendan.  
Brendan threw the shirt in Ste's direction, blocking his view momentarily as Brendan started undoing his belt.  
Once the buckle was undone, he whipped the belt off in one go, folded the belt in half and cracked it, leaving the sound echoing loudly in the room.

Ste watched Brendan hungrily. He would never get tired of Brendan's body.  
Brendan was the ultimate definition of a man. His dark hairs stuck firmly to his body in all the right places. His body was toned. His blue eyes shined bright in the dark room. His hands were slowly working on unbuttoning and unzipping his black trousers, before sliding them down his legs, leaving him in nothing but his boxers.


End file.
